Maybe this doesn’t mean a thing, but it struck me…
Remember when I told you yesterday about Bobby Harrell’s overwhelming re-election as Speaker? I mean, we had expected Nancy Pelosi’s coronation as Minority Leader, but Bobby’s win was much more convincing than hers. (Harrell won 112-5 over a challenger who had been much touted as representing Tea Party dissatisfaction with the speaker. Pelosi won 150-43 over a moderate who was never given much of a chance in the increasingly liberal Democratic caucus.)
Well, Gina Smith tweeted that out at 1:29 p.m. yesterday.
Today, at 4:42 p.m. — more than 27 hours later — I got this from Karen Floyd:
Dear Subscriber
Yesterday, State House Representative Bobby Harrell retained his leadership position as House Speaker with an overwhelming majority.
Speaker Harrell is a true conservative leader who will continue to honorably represent the ideals and values of South Carolinians. We are excited to have someone at the state house that will take the helm and guide us towards a brighter future.
For the next legislative session, you can be sure that more conservative reforms will be making their way through the legislature. Speaker Harrell will promote lower taxes and business incentives in the coming months, as well as strive to streamline state government to make it more efficient and effective.
After the enormous outcry from the people this past election season, it is imperative that we move toward smaller government and tighter spending controls. We are blessed to have a House Speaker who takes these matters seriously and will ensure that your trust was not misplaced.
Sincerely,
Karen Floyd
SCGOP Chairman
Why did that boilerplate, lukewarm-to-middling congrats take so long? Maybe it was just that there aren’t as many people on deck attending to business over at party HQ now that the election is over.
But in that wording — which flatly offers assurances that Bobby WILL obediently do what you “conservatives” out there want him to do, fear not — and in that timing, I sense a hesitation, a decision-making process: Should we congratulate him? If so, do we need to talk to him first and get certain assurances?
Maybe not. Maybe, since I’m on the outside looking in, I’m just reading too much between the lines. But I’m reminded of the way I felt on election night, during that eerie waiting period while we wondered when Nikki Haley would come out and give a victory speech. What, indeed, was going on backstage? (And when she appeared virtually alone, I wondered whether there had been some sort of debate in the wings as to whether anyone besides Henry would appear with her.)
But that had been a long day, and my imagination was overly active. Same thing today. Long day. Although not as long as the day that passed before this congratulations went out…
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To take my Kremlin-watching another step… back to the night of Nikki’s victory…
If you look closely at the pictures posted online by The State — no, not THAT picture or THAT picture, but THIS picture — you’ll see that Bobby Harrell was there, in the crowd.
Which makes me wonder: Did Nikki want the speaker and other prominent Republicans to stand with her during her speech and he didn’t want to? Or did he want to stand with her and she didn’t want him to? Or did no one think about it? (Of the three possibilities, the last seems least likely. In that long delay, there was time to think about a lot of stuff.)
How is saying “We are blessed to have a House Speaker who takes these matters seriously and will ensure that your trust was not misplaced” lukewarm?
You are trying to make something out of nothing.
“Speaker Harrell will promote lower taxes and business incentives in the coming months, ”
So if taxes are not lower in the coming months, should we assume it is because he is an ineffective speaker or would it be that he really doesn’t mean it when he says he wants to lower taxes?
Most of us in the real world have to meet our objectives in order to be considered successful.
Wesley, go read it again…
Wait, did you write it? If so, read it two or three times. It’s often harder to see such things when you’re the author…
There’s this:
“Yesterday, State House Representative Bobby Harrell retained his leadership position as House Speaker with an overwhelming majority.
… We are excited to have someone at the state house that will take the helm and guide us towards a brighter future.”
Okay, if Harrell was the leader the past year, why didn’t he lead us to a brighter future last year?
@Ralph
“why didn’t he lead us to a brighter future last year?”
Because Mark Sanford was such a powerful force implementing all his libertarian initiatives. Oh, wait.. all he did was put out a few vetoes that got overridden.
South Carolina today is what Harrell and Leatherman’s want it to be.
Back to Wesley’s comment. He quotes, “We are blessed to have a House Speaker who takes these matters seriously and will ensure that your trust was not misplaced.”
But you see, I read that in the context of it following the sentence before it: “After the enormous outcry from the people this past election season, it is imperative that we move toward smaller government and tighter spending controls.”
Both are consistent with a tone running through the entire short release — a suggestion that you will have these things (smaller gummint, various reforms) NOT because there is anything special about Bobby Harrell. The suggestion is that his election doesn’t give you these good things. What gives them to you is the fact that YOU demanded it at the polls.
The release seems to be reassuring folks that Bobby won’t stand in the way of that, so it’s OK to see his re-election as a good thing.
Re-read that sentence, “For the next legislative session, you can be sure that more conservative reforms will be making their way through the legislature.” It WILL happen, period. Be sure of that. Don’t worry. Even though, you know, he was the speaker when the stuff you wanted DIDN’T happen. He’s gotten the message, and therefore “Speaker Harrell will promote lower taxes and business incentives in the coming months, as well as strive to streamline state government to make it more efficient and effective.”
Yeah. Lukewarm is what I mean.
Many people just call it putting lipstick on a pig.
Its what always happens when the “winners” have to distance themselves from their own record. It’s a tricky thing; and ultimately pointless.
All Harrell’s release was saying was just lets get this populist stuff behind us so we can get back to the status quo – MY status quo.
Maybe Speaker Harrell will follow through with Nikki Haley’s promise to eliminate the small business income tax…
I think there are some accountants that don’t know how to prepare income taxes. Nikki Haley obviously belongs in the “Don’t Know How To” category regarding income taxes in regards to her late filing of personal and business income taxes, as well as her withholding of employee withholding taxes.
But small business income is reported on Schedule C, which is reported on Form 1040, ie, personal income taxes.
Woo hoo! Nikki is going to eliminate the personal income tax!
I wish! But I’m not holding my breath.